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CHET AND CORRY guided Rory as he drove through the forest and back towards the river. Everyone had their weapon out now and the tension was high as they kept a continual watch for the slightest sign of a rifle-carrying horseman or any other armed threat. It took several hours of weaving back and forth to cover the area of the forest contained within the triangle of the three converging lines, formed by the three treasure signs. There were a number of false sightings before something significant appeared.
"I see something dead ahead," Rory said as he pointed over the steering wheel. Everyone leaned forward, eager to see what he had spotted. Rory pulled to a stop twenty feet away from a huge maple tree.
"Wow," Corry said. He was out of the vehicle in a flash and ran for the tree, stopping dead in front of it.
Emma was out running hard right behind him and came to a stop on his left.
Chet ran but slower, struggling to keep his pants up so he wouldn't trip over his droopy pant legs. He stopped on Corry's right.
Rory and Donna-Lou met at the front of the vehicle and gave each other a shake of their head at the enthusiasm of their fellow treasure hunters.
"I know that one," Donna-Lou said as she walked up to stand behind her son. He was now tracing the sign in the heavy, rough bark with his fingers. She put her hands on her hips, "Okay. That's a turtle sign. Which means it's a reverse sign. We go in the opposite direction of the head."
"You got it, mom," Corry said proudly.
Chet put a hand on Corry's shoulder, "Notice something else about it, Corry?"
Corry nodded as he touched the head carved in the bark, "Yep." He looked up at Chet, "And that's why they can't find the treasure."
Chet gave him a return nod of affirmation.
Donna-Lou moved to the side of the others to get a better view, crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head this way and that as she looked at the carving.
Rory moved up behind her, trying to get a better view as well and a better understanding of how the signs worked.
Glancing back at him, Donna-Lou gave a slight shrug and then looked at her son, "Okay. For us rookie treasure hunters, what do you mean that's why they can't find the treasure?"
Emma looked from Donna-Lou to Corry, giggling and tugging at his sleeve, "Go ahead, tell them."
Corry looked at his mother, pointing to the sign, "Do you notice how the head is broken in the center?"
Reaching out, Donna-Lou traced the carving's head, "It's not a complete circle, you mean?"
"Right. That means the treasure was moved by someone to a new location."
Donna-Lou considered that stunning revelation for a moment. Then she gestured in the direction of the river, "You mean someone actually moved the treasure over there...to another location?"
Corry nodded, "Yep."
She narrowed her eyes, thinking for a moment. Then she shook her head, "But I don't get it. Why would the Knights of the Golden Circle be guarding this entire area, running people off if it wasn't here anymore? Wouldn't they know that?"
Corry looked at Chet, unsure.
Chet only blinked his eyes. Then he said, "Maybe...maybe they're just guarding the signs?" He looked less than convinced, though.
Silence ensued as everyone gave that some thought. Finally, Rory shifted on his feet, scratched the stubble on his face and spoke, "Chet?"
Looking over his shoulder, Chet said, "Yeah?"
Chewing on his lower lip for another moment, Rory then said, "Remember the conversation you had with that guy with the rifle? When you were hiking up to the ridge?"
Chet nodded, "Yeah. Buster Connor." He glanced at Donna-Lou, "I told you about that when we was goin' down to Mississippi. Remember?"
Donna-Lou nodded, "Yeah, you said he was going to kill you."
Looking back at Rory, Chet nodded, "Yeah, what about it...?"
"What did he say about your family? About the killing? And the treasure?"
Looking down for a moment, Chet thought back, "He said...your family said there was too much killing. And...they were in charge of caring for the treasure and–" He looked up, "He said they were going to turn it over to the government. But...."
Rory nodded, "But they obviously didn't. Because the Knights of the Golden Circle are still looking for it. I could be wrong...but...." He glanced at the sign. "That sign says the treasure was moved. He looked at Corry and Emma, "And these two overheard the conversation about a feud, about someone wanting to move the treasure. About traitors who were killed...?"
Chet's face slowly showed the realization of what Rory was saying. He nodded his head slowly, "I bet you're right. And it was my family that was involved. That's why momma didn't want me looking for the treasure. My daddy and my granddaddy were not killed in an accident...or because they were looking for the treasure. They were the ones who moved it." He blinked his eyes for a moment and then looked at Donna-Lou, "Your granddaddy...and all the stuff you had in the attic...the slicker...."
Donna-Lou's hand went to her mouth, "Oh, my. My grandfather died just after yours. He...he must have been working with your family...."
Chet nodded solemnly.
Corry's eyes were big, "Really? He was one of them? The Knights of the Golden Circle? That's why we had that stuff in the trunk?"
Donna-Lou nodded her head softly, still having a hard time taking it all in, "It looks like it."
"Cool beans," Emma said. Then she turned serious, "But...if they moved the treasure, where did it go?"
"That is a good question," Rory said.
"Well, there is another clue," Chet said, his attention going back to the tree, "Do you see the sign under the turtle?"
"You mean the thick circle?" Donna-Lou asked. She stepped forward and traced the circle in the bark with her fingers, "What does this one tell us?"
Chet looked at her son, "Corry?"
Corry looked at the circle, running his fingers into the carving in the bark as well. After a moment he shrugged, "I should know this one...but...."
"What would it be if it was a circle with an X in it?" Chet prompted.
Corry answered instantly, "A mine."
"Okay. So what's this one, then?"
Looking at the sign again, Corry shook his head, "I'm...I'm not sure."
"This one is the sign for...a cave," revealed Chet.
Corry snapped his fingers, "Right, I forgot that one." He pointed at the turtle, "That one means they moved the treasure...and the circle tells us they moved it to a cave."
"Okay, then," Rory said. "If we follow in the direction opposite to where the head is pointing, we find the treasure?"
Chet and Corry looked at each other for a brief moment. Then both of them shook their heads no.
"Why not?
"Because it's pointing away from the other signs across the river," Corry answered. He looked at Chet, "Right?"
Chet nodded.
Rory and Donna-Lou looked at each, confused.
Chet hitched his pants up, "Okay. Keep in mind all the signs in an area work together. Remember how all the signs worked together over on the other side of the river, to show us which sign was the keystone?"
Rory nodded, "That's the one that lined up with the star on the flag, right?
Chet nodded in confirmation, "That's right. And the reason we came on this trip was to figure out exactly where the tree was that had the last sign on it."
"Right," Donna-Lou said, "we needed to find it to figure out where the guide was."
"Exactly. But these signs on the tree aren't pointing to the set of signs over there, so they don't fit in with them," Chet reasoned.
Corry looked around at the trees and then looked at Chet, "The turtle that's over the circle...telling us where the treasure is hidden...that's a reverse sign. That means there must be a complete set of signs on this side of the river that goes with it."
Chet nodded in agreement, "Someone moved the treasure and then created a whole new set of signs on this side. All we have to do is find them and–"
Donna-Lou interrupted him with an angry, concerned tone, "But we don't have the time to look for a whole new set of signs over here. Those riders and anyone else working with them will eventually come over here to find us and...." She didn't want to say it and then it erupted, "Make no mistake. It will be just like what happened to our grandparents, Chet. Those men will hunt us down. Those men will kill us."
"She's right, I'm afraid," admitted Rory.
Chet cursed. "Okay, you're right. But we probably just led them right to the signs that will help them find the treasure."
"And buy the bomb," Emma said in a quiet voice.
No one contradicted her.
"So," Chet said slowly, "what do we do?"
There was a long silence.
It was Corry who spoke up, "Maybe we should just set fire to the forest here and burn up all the signs. That will stop them, right?"
Rory, Donna-Lou, and Chet all looked at him with a resigned look on their faces. It was the only thing that made sense.